SA News

Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP)

Cabinet approved the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) on 12 August 2009.

The CRDP is premised on three phases:

• Phase One, which has meeting basic human needs as its driver
• Phase Two, which has large-scale infrastructure development as its driver
• Phase Three, with the emergence of rural industrial and credit financial sectors, which is driven by small, micro and medium enterprises and village markets.

The creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods lies at the heart of the CRDP. The programme commits itself to ensuring that at least one person in each rural household is employed for a minimum period of two years.

To ensure sustainability, communal owner- ship, and effective contribution towards the overall objectives of developing rural areas, the department entered into social compacts with communities, as well as contractual relation- ships with unemployed community members.

The strategic objective of the CRDP is to facilitate integrated development and social cohesion through participatory approaches in partnership with all sectors of society.

This is done by:

1. contributing to the redistribution of 30% of the country’s agricultural land
2. improving food security of the rural poor
3. creating business opportunities
4. decongesting and rehabilitating over- crowded former homeland areas
5. expanding opportunities for rural women, youth, people with disabilities and older people.

Under the CRDP, 2 447 household food gardens have been established in the CRDP sites during 2012.

By January 2013, CRDP 2 656 beneficiaries were skilled and capacitated in technical enterprise development trade;  52  councils of stakeholders have been established as representative community forums; CRDP has been rolled out to 157 rural wards; 143 698 poor households were profiled to assess their needs; 692 km of fencing was erected in the CRDP wards; and 96 km of roads were upgraded.

The department contributed to the increased number of households with access to sanitation by 10%, 10,45%  access to electricity, 4% accesses to clean water, distributed 39 331 rainwater harvesting tanks and constructed 37 km of water pipeline in North West.

Bulk water and sanitation infrastructure have been constructed in KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape  and North West. Rain water harvesting tanks have been distributed throughout CRDP sites.

Earlier achievements

The community of Muyexe, an impoverished rural township in the Giyani District of Limpopo, reaped several benefits through the programme:

• 330 houses have been built
• boreholes have been equipped
• a water purification plant has been set up, underwritten by the Development Bank of Southern Africa
• internal water reticulation has been established
• 275 sanitation units have been provided
• a community centre with a post office, clinic, satellite police  station, drop-in centre and sports stadium have been built
• the local school was renovated and more classrooms and ablution facilities were added
• a new early childhood development centre with solar lighting was also constructed
• two village viewing areas enable the community to view major sporting events
• an I-school Africa Rural Development Programme at the secondary and primary school offers learners an opportunity to interact and forge skills in the use of new technology
• solar powered street lights are to be provided in Muyexe, Gonono and Dingamanzi.

Other communities also benefited under the programme:

• In Mkhondo in Mpumalanga,100 households were assisted with solar units. The local school was also renovated and boarding facilities were built.
• In Riemvasmaak, in the Northern Cape, 100 household gardens were established.
• In Vredesvallei in the Northern Cape, a one-hectare community garden was established; 22 livestock farmers were provided with grazing camps; a 37-km water pipeline was completed and solar lighting was provided to 100 households; two clinics have been constructed and are operational; and cattle- handling facilities and fencing have been completed.

The CRDP was extended to other communities including Schmidtsdrift in the Siyanda District, Heuningvlei in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District and Renosterberg in the Pixley Ka Seme District.
In the Ngaka Modiri Molema District, in the North West, a community of 800 people benefitted from a project in which they received 40 pregnant Bonsmara heifers to improve the quality of livestock for an enterprise development project and 12 Bonsmara bulls for breeding purposes. In addition, nine cooperatives in the district received 200 goats and seven rams. In KwaZulu-Natal, 780 households in Msinga received electricity. Bulk water infrastructure is also benefitting 720 households under the Ndaya Water Scheme.

The Malenge Irrigation Scheme in KwaZulu-Natal, consisting of 199 beneficiaries, received assistance in resuscitating production. They are producing vegetables and grain crops on 280 ha of land.

A total of 50 ha of dry beans have been planted at Nhlahleni in KwaZulu-Natal, while 200 ha of maize and sunflower production was established for 120 beneficiaries.

In the Free State, crèches, a school and clinics were built in Diyatalawa and Makholokoeng. Three hydroponic  tunnels  were  erected  for intensive tomato production in Makholokoeng. Another  success of  the  CRDP  was  the 258 vegetable gardens constructed in Mhlonto in the Eastern Cape. At least 15 of these gardens are selling to local retail shops. In Idutywa and Alice, 600 ha of maize were planted and two agri-parks were established.

The department contributed to the increased number of households with access to sanitation by 10%, 10,45% access to electricity, 4% accesses to clean water, distributed 39 331 rainwater harvesting tanks and  constructed 37 km of water pipeline in North West. Bulk water and sanitation infrastructure have been constructed in KwaZulu-Natal, the Northern Cape and North West. Rain-water harvesting tanks have been distributed throughout CRDP sites.